Plague of Shadows
by devonm0
Summary: A mysterious being steals Spyro's elemental powers, and then an evil dragon appears and spreads a blanket of shadow across the land.  Rating subject to change.
1. Prologue

Prologue: A Mysterious New Foe

It was night. All of the dragons had turned in for the night, and unknown to them, a cloaked figure, a trespasser, had entered the village. The unknown invader was searching for something, and he was searching the area of the world that the dragons call home thoroughly and persistantly. Sure enough, he eventually found what he was lookning for. His desired target, was Spyro the Dragon. The cloaked figure approached Spyro, and placed his hands, covered in gloves, on his chest. A stream of pure power, purple in color and visible to the naked eye, was being drawn from Spyro and into the body of the mysterious intruder. As the purple stream of power faded from view, Spyro began to squirm in his sleep, causing the cloaked figure to gasp, look both ways, and suddenly vanish into the night just as Spyro woke up. It wasn't long before he noticed an absence of the majority of his former strength, and he asked in a low, tired sounding voice,

"What happened to me...?" All of the formed commotion, combined with Spyro's exhausted talking, caused Cynder, who was staying with Spyro, to just barely wake up. She looked at Spyro, and asked,

"What's wrong Spyro...?"

"Huh...? Oh, nothing." Said Spyro.

"You still sound terribly exhausted, go back to bed..." Said Cynder. She was then quick to fall back asleep. Spyro thought about it, and decided that it was probably exhaustion. Whatever it was, he would know for sure in the morning, so he went back to sleep.

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I know it's pretty short, but there will be more. Trust me, I haven't even gotten started yet.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Sinister Plot

In the morning, Spyro was still feeling drained. As such, he decided to see Ignitus. He figured if anyone could figure out why he was feeling so weak, it was Ignitus. As Spyro was looking for Ignitus, the stage was being set for a most terrible plot, in a large structure on the peak of a mountain shrouded in constant shadow...

"Master, I did as you commanded. So, what now?" Asked the cloaked figure who had robbed Spyro of his power. The entity who was apparently his master then faced him, and said,

"Spyro is sure to be aware of what has happened, so we must make preparations with all possible haste. Quickly! To the dwelling of shadows!" He proceeded to make his way to the only door in the room he was currently in, and the cloaked figure followed closely behind. When they arrived at their destination, a deep voice with no visible origin spoke, saying,

"Now, with all the keys in place, the world will know the terror of eternal shadow. Darkness will rule over the realms, as my beasts of the night prey on the fear of all!"

"Master, are you sure we won't regret this?" Asked the cloaked figure.

"Nonsense, why would we regret it? Stop worrying, and prepare the spell!" Said the other entity, who was constantly shrouded in darkness. The cloaked figure gulped, and nodded before beginning preparations.

Meanwhile, at the Dragon Temple...

Spyro had found Ignitus, in a trance-like state, staring into the pool of visions. Spyro approched him, and barely heard him say,

"Oh no..." Spyro stopped abruptly, stared at Ignitus for a short while, and then decided to ask,

"What? What is it, Ignitus?" Spyro's voice snapped Ignitus out of his trance, and he looked at Spyro, and said,

"As we speak, a plague of shadows threatens to envelop everything. No doubt you experienced the first part of the plan of a sinister duo personally."

"Plan? What plan?" Asked Spyro.

"A plan by someone named...Sundral...He stole your power, and is using it to fuel a spell that will unleash upon our world a blanket of darkness. No light will seep through the dark, and the beasts of darkness will once again rule our land, as they did so long ago." Explained Ignitus. Suddenly, a certain dragonfly friend of Spyro's flew into the open, and said,

"Wow, that sounds rather depressing."

"Sparx? When did you get here?" Asked Spyro.

"Ah, my young friend, more then depression will come from this catastrophe. It could mean the extinction of all dragons. The dark beasts obey no one." Said Ignitus.

"Wait, but this Sundral is a dragon too, right?" Asked Spyro. Ignitus nodded in confirmation, and Spyro then continued by saying,

"In other words, not even he will be safe..."

"He would be killed regardless of his species. The dark beasts have no master...except..." Said Ignitus.

"Except...?" Asked Spyro.

"Except the Dark Master. This is even worse then I feared!" Exclaimed Ignitus.

"Why? As long as the Dark Master is sealed, they have no master." Said Spyro.

"But that's just it, Spyro. These beasts of darkness know how to free the Dark Master. They tried to do it every night for a while, but they could never find a portal to Convexity before the sun rose. With the light eternally blocked out..." Said Ignitus.

"The dark beasts will be free to search as long as they need to!" Said Spyro.

"Exactly." Confirmed Ignitus.

"So, what do we do?" Asked Spyro.

"I...I wish I knew. We don't have very long, and you're in no condition to fight." Said Ignitus.

"Hey! You think just because I don't have elemental powers that I can't fight?" Asked Spyro.

"No...but we don't know what we're up against. It is always best to fight an unknown adversary in peak condition." Said Ignitus.

"Well, we'll just have to make due with what we've got." Said Spyro. Suddenly, a voice that was familiar to all of them said from across the room,

"Yeah, and don't forget about me!" Spyro, Ignitus and Spyro all turned to see Cynder, who walked over to join them in the conversation. She said,

"So, are we in this together, or are we just going to sit around and do nothing? I say we take action, and as soon as possible!"

"I agree, we can't give up without a fight." Said Spyro. Ignitus just looked at them, and said,

"Alright, I suppose we at least have to try." Sparx just hovered for a second or two, dumbfounded at what he considered their stupidity, before saying,

"Ok, it's official! The three of you have officially gone crazy! I never get MY way around here! Perhaps I should just go back to Tall Plains. Yeah, there we go, somewhere where I'm the boss!"

"That's fine. Go ahead. All you really do around here is get in the way anyway." Said Spyro. Cynder then whispered to Spyro,

"Hmm, a little harsh, don't you think?"

"It's true, though." Said Spyro. Sparx thought about his possible decisions, and then decided,

"Well, since you guys seem to be getting along soooo well without me, I think I'll stick around just to annoy you."

"Well, I'll give you credit, you're a pretty brave coward." Said Cynder.

"Oh yeah...What?!" Said Sparx, Cynder's words taking a little while to fully register into his brain. Spyro and Cynder just laughed at Sparx's response, and Ignitus sighed, and said,

"Well, at least there are some trustworthy individuals left in the world."


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry for leaving this thing hanging for so long, but I've had a lot of things going on.

Chapter 2: Spreading Shadows

As Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx made preparations for their departure, Ignitus kept a careful watch for strange occurances through the pool of visions.

"Are we set?" Asked Cynder.

"Looks like it!" Exclaimed Spyro in a rather determined sounding reply.

"If we includes me, we'll never be set because I'll never be ready!" Complained Sparx.

"This will be very dangerous, Sparx." Said Spyro.

"Duh, you think I don't know that?!" Asked Sparx, quite irritated at that point.

"Listen Sparx. If you'd rather stay here, I won't think anything less of you. This will be a gamble of gambles for the two of us as well, but we have to do something. After all, if not us, then who?" Explained Spyro.

"Ok, pull it together, Sparx. Now, listen here, buddy. I've always helped you in my own way, and you've needed. In other words, no matter the danger, I can't let you go without someone who can scan higher altitudes effectively and, maybe do a little stealth work here and there. So, let's go!" Said Sparx.

"I'm impressed. Usually you're quite cowardly, but when you get your courage, it's quite inspiring." Said Cynder.

"Thanks...I think..." Said Sparx, not sure if he should feel honored or degraded by that comment. Ignitus walked to the young trio, and said,

"Leave as soon as you are able. The pool of visions has shown me that though the spell to unleash the shadowy cloak remains incomplete, some of the blanketing shadow magic has seeped from the seal, and that can only mean that the spell is not far from completion. The location in which the ritual is taking place is about 70 kilometers north of the Mountain of Malefor, in the middle of a forsaken region known only as the Bonelands. It is a very dangerous area, crawling with all shapes and sizes of beasts, eack dangerous in its own way."

"Thanks for the insight, big guy. Are you two ready? I know I am." Said Sparx. Spyro and Cynder each gave a full nod, and the trio took off without further discussion. Ignitus walked forward as they took off, and yelled,

"May the ancestors look after you!" As they vanished from view, he finished his sentence in a voice just above a whisper,

"May they look after us all..." Because of circumstances of late, the trip to, and a decent distance beyond the Mountain of Malefor was rather smooth. However, at the border of what they made a correct guess of by thinking it was the Bonelands, they were greeted with an enormous cyclone. As it approached, the three just stopped.

"That's gotta be the biggest cyclone I've seen in my life!" Yelled Cynder.

"Oh no!" Yelled Spyro

"Mommy!" Yelled Sparx. They all screamed as they were pulled into the powerful suction. After a short time, Sparx managed to yell,

"I want off this crazy thing!" For some reason, after he said that, the winds slowed, and then calmed altogether. Spyro and Cynder managed to get some wind under their wings, but Sparx couldn't even beat his, because of the fearful experience. He fell,but not far before Cynder swooped under him, allowing him to land and rest on her back. Spyro let out a relieved sigh, and Sparx said,

"I never thought I'd say this, but, thanks Cynder."

"You...You called me by name!" Exclaimed Cynder.

"Well, what'd you expect me to do? After all, over the time I've been forced to spend with you, you seem to have earned my respect...a little." Said Sparx.

"Aww, it's so nice to hear that from you." Said Cynder.

"Yeah, well just don't get too attached." Said Sparx.

"No complaints there." Said Cynder.

"Okay, if we're done with this rather touching conversation, can we get a move on? We need to find Sundral's base of operations!" Said Spyro.

"Ok, let's go then." Said Sparx.

"Yeah, you're right, we can't let Sundral go through with this!" Said Cynder. Suddenly, the light from the sun that covered the sky was gradually blotted out by the increasing density of the shadowy sheet. Spyro looked up at the darkening sky, then to Cynder and Sparx, and said,

"We should hurry." Cynder nodded, Sparx gave a thumbs up, and the trio was off once again. They were making good time, having crossed 7 kilometers into the Bonelands in 20 minutes, but then, something big snatched Cynder out of the sky.

"Spyro!" Yelled Cynder as she was pulled to the ground.

"Cynder!" Yelled Spyro.

"Spyro, don't just hover there! Do something!" Yelled Sparx. Spyro dashed downward toward Cynder's captor.

"Well well, what have we here? A black dragon whelp! How fortunate, I was feeling hungry right about now!" Said the creature, one with intelligence not much greater than that of speech, an Artocani. Cynder breathed a stream of fire on the beast, but its natural armor provided an effective defense against it.

"Oh, too bad. My kind eats things like you, ya see, so we had to...adapt. You can see the result." Explained the Artocani, feeling quite proud of itself. The gargantuan opened its gaping jaws, and was about to eat its catch in one big gulp, but as it was, Spyro had reached it, and slammed his head into its chest, knocking it back a good 20 or so feet into a rock formation...well, through it actually, and the rocks, as well as the Artocani, collapsed. It had also dropped Cynder as soon as it was hit. Spyro, now with eyes blazing with rage, charged the fallen beast, and as he approached, he snarled, and slashed the creature to pieces with his claws. Once Spyro got most of his anger out, he relieved the rest by snorting fire from his nostrils. He then took a deep breath, and said,

"Well, I feel better." He then ran to Cynder, to make sure she was okay.

"Thank you, Spyro, though maybe you were a bit...too thorough. I guess not, actually. So, what was with that flash of rage, huh, tough guy?" Asked Cynder with a smile.

"Well, I guess I just can't stand to see those I have concern for in danger, like when I first breathed fire when Sparx was almost killed by an ape, and ice when Kane of the Atlawa almost went over a waterfall." Explained Spyro.

"I suppose it makes sense, considering your kind nature." Said Cynder.

"Yeah, and while most consider emotion a weakness, it is a great factor in his victories." Said Sparx.

"Now, let's get moving! The world is counting on us." Said Spyro. The other two nodded in agreement, and the trio again set off toward their destination.


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry, long mental block. Here we go, it's Chapter 3!

Chapter 3: The Arena

Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx continued on their way, hoping to remain for the most part undisturbed in their travels. However, such was never the case in the Bonelands. As they would soon find out, it seemed to be that those not used to the ways of the Bonelands would always be getting out of one situation, simply to end up in another, worse than the last. Everything was looking ok, but then everything suddenly got quiet. Spyro and Sparx just kept going, until they saw that Cynder had stopped to look around.

"Cynder? What's wrong?" Asked Spyro.

"It's too quiet all of a sudden. You know, kind of like the calm before a massive storm." Replied Cynder. Spyro lookd around himself before saying,

"Ya know, I think you're right." Unknown to them, a shady figure loomed among the uppermost branches of a nearby dead tree. The mysterious individual pulled a long bow, and readied an arrow, poised to shoot at Spyro. It pulled back the bowstring, holding the weapon similarly to a crossbow, and as it shot the projectile, Spyro stopped, and saw the arrow through his peripheal vision. He jumped over it, and looked back in the direction from which the arrow had come with a snarl, asking in a loud voice,

"Who's there?"

The figure who had shot at him pulled out bladed gloves and put them on it's hands before rushing at him at an untrackable speed. Spyro gasped as the individual smirked before lifting him up by the neck. Cynder saw all of this happen, and also saw the figure pull back its free hand, preparing to slit Spyro's throat. Spyro was already choking through the figure's firm grip, trying and failing to get some air. Cynder lunged at Spyro's attacker, only to get knocked away by the figure, one of the blades on its glove nicking her cheek. Cynder tested the slight injury with her tongue, and after tasting her own blood, was furious. Her eyes glowed crimson as her body was enveloped in a dark aura. The aura itself became a mass of tendrils, one of which ripped Spyro from his attacker's grip, while several others entered the figure's body, being able to since they were nothing more than dark energy, and tore it apart from the inside. Cynder panted a little from her massive explosion of anger, and then ran to Spyro's side, saying to him,

"Spyro! Spyro are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. How did you do that?" Asked Spyro.

"Well, I can't really explain it. I suppose it was nothing more than an impulse of anger." Replied Cynder.

"Oh well, whatever it was, I guess we'll end up finding out later. For now, however, we need to get out of here, in case that thing has buddies who might have seen that. Come on." Said Spyro. However, shotly after he had said that, he blacked out, an arrow having hit him in the pressure point in his neck. Cynder gasped, but was quick to join him in unconsciousness. The one who had shot them, similar to the figure that Cynder had just killed, dragged them off into the distance.

Several hours later they woke up in a room made of metal, like the entire area they were in. Also like the entire facility, the room was very hi-tech and extremely advanced for its time. Spyro shook his head to take away the dizzy feeling he had, and then said,

"Ohh, where are we?" Cynder looked around, then at Spyro before saying,

"My guess is that we're in another arena. I wonder what kind of idiot runs this one?"

"Idiot? I am a highly educated and sophisticated individual, I'll have you know!" Said a voice with an origin that could not be determined. It seemed to come from every direction.

"Who's that?" Asked Cynder. She was half-answered when the one who had spoken dropped from above, riht in front of Spyro and Cynder's eyes. He asked,

"Where are your manners?"

"What are you talking about?" Asked Cynder.

"It's only proper to give your own name first, and then asking for that of another, young lady." Said the mysterious individual. Cynder growled, but finally said,

"Fine, my name's Cynder. Now tell me who the hell you are!"

"Temper temper. Such violent language too. For the sake of the freedom you have left I suggest you calm yourself. As for your question, my name is Scarr. I am the younger and much more intelligent brother of Scabb." Said the figure. Like Scabb, he was a huge ape.

"Ok, Scarr. May I ask why we have been brought here?" Asked Spyro.

"Simply to fight, to entertain the audience. They're all BIG fans of the purple dragon, and they have traveled here from all over, simply to see you fight." Replied Scarr. Cynder, her anger having calmed, asked Scarr,

"Is there a catch of any sort?"

"Just one. Unlike my late brother's arena, you will not have to escape from this one. We are in a hi-tech arena on our planet's moon. One of my men is at the exit of this facility, waiting with a shuttle to take you back to the planet. However, you will have to show him proof of a bronze membership. You can become a bronze member by earning 100 points. You get points by winning fights. You lose points if you lose a fight. The amount you win or lose is chosen at random, so be careful how you judge your fighting style based on your opponent. I wish you luck, and I hope this experience will provide you with some combat practice for when you face Sundral. You can check how many points you have under your names listed in the terminal over there. Oh yes, unlike my late-brother, I am against the Dark Master. That being all, I must bid you adieu for now." Said Scarr in a long-winded explanation. Once he was done speaking, he left the room.

"So, what now Spyro? The clock is still ticking!" Said Cynder.

"Well, I guess we just get that Bronze Membership. This sounds like fun!" Said Spyro enthusiastically.

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Thus concludes Chapter 3! Thanks to all who are sticking with me.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Cynder's Initiation Fight

About an hour later, a projection of Scarr appeared in front of Spyro and Cynder, who had fallen asleep. Through the projection, Scarr said,

"Cynder? If you're ready, we have a challenger for you for your initiation." Cynder slowly awoke, saying to the projection,

"Hang on a sec, just let me wake up." She yawned shortly after saying that, and walked over to a large bowl of water, submerging her head for a few seconds before withdrawing it. She shook her head, and felt at least more awake than she had. She faced thr projection again and said,

"Ok, I'm ready. Who or what will I be fighting?"

"Well, who you fight depends on how many points you have compared to other participants. Since your point count is labelled as not applicable, I have you set up with the only potential challenger who has 0 points. Good luck out there, and tell Spyro that he can view your match through the very system through which I am speaking to you." Explained Scarr. The projection vanished, and Cynder was quick to rouse Spyro from his slumber. Spyro looked at Cynder and asked,

"Cynder what is it?"

"I have my initiation match now. You can watch it using that thing over there. Wish me luck!" Said Cynder as she ran out of the room.

"Yeah, good luck Cynder." Said Spyro. He then walked over to the hologram network and pressed the on button, the network flashing to life and showing Cynder, her opponent, and the impressive looking arena all in separate images. Spyro looked at Cynder's opponent, and thought of it as quite easy compared to what they had been through. Cynder and her opponent met in the arena, and Cynder could hear people in the crowd whistling to her, shouting her name, making all kinds of comments to her, and so on. One gesture in particular seemed to shock her quite a bit. A bundle of roses, some black and some the signature red landed at her forepaws, accompanied by someone saying 'Hey beautiful!' Cynder simply shook her head and walked past the roses to get to her spot. Her opponent was a young-looking flying lizard that looked remarkably like a scaly avian. It had a green body with orangish stripes across its back. It had large wings for its size, like one would expect a dragon to have. Its feet were more like those of a bird than a reptile, and it had a sharp avian beak. As they got to their indicated locations, Scarr yelled from his seat,

"Ladies, gentlemen, and children! Today we have a treat for you all! The initiation fight for the beautiful companion of the purple dragon! Put your hands, paws, claws, or whatever together for the young black dragon, Cynder!" A large portion of the crowd cheered and clapped, though there were those who booed. Scarr looked around at the audience, and yelled,

"Well, as there are some who would rather see her lose, let me introduce her opponent, the also young, and equally promising, Lon the Wyvern!" To this those who cheered for Cynder booed Lon, while those who booed Cynder cheered for Lon. Scarr yelled over the crowd,

"These two ferocious fighters will clash right here before your very eyes! As always, the match will end when one fighter, for whatever reason, is incapable of continuing the fight! Now, bring down the arena board! Veterans will know that this board will randomly select a field from the countless available!" The arena board was lowered, and a selection cursor began highlighting the thumbnails for random battle arenas at a fast pace that gradually slowed, finally stopping on the thumbnail of a large floating island with pillars strewn around it. There were also a number of floating islets at varying elevations, some above, some below, and some equal to that of the main one. The arena, and also the air around the arena got all wavy-like, and sometime during the timespan when this was happening, the arema turned into a larger version of what was displayed in the thumbnail. Of course, the whole time, Cynder was looking around, very much confused. Once the transition was complete, she mumbled,

"Weird..." She looked at the Wyvern, who simply got ready for combat. Cynder smiled and took her own combat stance. Scarr looked at both of them, and said with a smile,

"Since it seems both fighters are ready... 3! 2! 1!" At that point, the whole crowd yelled with Scarr,

"FIGHT!" At the word 'fight', Cynder and Lon both took to the air, each hovering as if waiting for the other to make a move. Lon was the first to attempt a strike, getting to a higher altitude and performing an almost 45° dive toward Cynder at high speed. Cynder, however, dodged with ease, and Lon flapped his wings furiously to stop himself before he crashed. Cynder managed to get in an attack once Lon turned around, not wanting to be dishonorable by attacking him from behind. Cynder's attack, a tail swipe, made a small cut on Lon's face. It did not bleed, however, and Lon smiled as he realized how close they happened to be, reaching forward in an attempt to grab Cynder. Cynder, however, ducked beneath the attempted grab and grabbed Lon instead, flipping herself and her opponent upside down and diving toward the floor, and spinning like a corkscrew to build up velocity. Lon could not esape Cynder's grip, and right before they both crashed, Cynder let go of Lon and pushed off of him to propel herself back into the air while causing Lon to suffer a hard crash into the floor. In mere seconds Lon was standing again, though panting hard. Utterly exhausted, he fell unconscious before long. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, as was Scarr, all observing Lon. When he did not get back up, Scarr raised up his left paw, which faced the door through which Cynder had entered the arena, thereby acknowledging Cynder's victory. He yelled,

"Cynder wins the fight by a knockout!" The whole crowd, even those who had previously booed Cynder, now cheered for her. Cynder looked around at the crowd happily, and then to Scarr as he jumped down to the arena. Scarr approached Cynder with a satisfied look on his face, and pulled from pouch at his side a clear card on a string. There was a large circle in the center of the card. Scarr put the card around Cynder's neck and said to her in a soft tone,

"Don't lose that. It will become the key that will permit you to exit once you become a bronze member. I cannot replace it, though, so be careful. It also carries data inside that acts as a shortcut to your personal member info. You are now part of our family here at the arena, and I wish you luck in earning the necessary 100 points for bronze membership. Just remember that your point count remains separate from Spyro's. You can go back to your room now. Tell Spyro to report to the arena in one hour."

"Alright! I'll see you later!" Said Cynder before returning to the room.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Desperate Time

"Spyro, wake up!" Yelled Cynder. She had been trying to wake Spyro, who had fallen asleep, for the past 15 minutes, but to no avail. From this last call she finally got something; Spyro had begun to stir. He slowly opened his eyes, and asked,

"What? What is it Cynder?"

"Spyro your fight is scheduled to start in another 45 minutes." Explained Cynder.

"Oh really? Oh, well thanks for waking me up in that case, Cynder." Said Spyro.

"No problem, just doing what I was told to do." Said Cynder. Spyro got up from his resting position, and tried to shake off his drowsyness. Finding himself unable to, he instead resorted to dipping his head in a container of water. Feeling quite refreshed after that, he turned to Cynder and asked,

"Well, we have 45 minutes to burn away, I wonder if Scarr would mind if we went exploring."

"Of course not. Just be back here in time for the escort to the arena." Said Scarr as he suddenly approached them.

"Oh, hello Scarr. Didn't see you there." Said Spyro, sounding kind of embarrassed.

"Of course you didn't; I just got here." Explained Scarr, causing Spyro to feel even more embarrassed than before.

"Well, since you don't mind, we'll be hesding out now to do our exploration of the place. After all, it gets kind of boring just seeing the same walls all the time." Said Cynder. Scarr nodded, and said,

"While you're out exploring, feel free to stop by the central terminal. It can tell you the names of all of the participants and where they stand, as well as just about any other information you can think of. If you intend to stop by it, which is in room 30C, then you'll need this card key." He put the card key, which was on a chain, around Spyro's neck, then continued by saying,

"You see, it's not publicly available, which means you will be receiving an advantage that no one else has."

"Wait, isn't that cheating?" Asked Cynder.

"Perhaps, but I prefer to call it knowing your enemy, which is a very important thing for the purple dragon to keep in mind. It is an invaluable skill for anyone to have. Now go on and do as you wish." Said Scarr. Spyro nodded, and he and Cynder left the room. They decided to search for the room with the central terminal. It took them a half hour to find it, and almost as soon as they entered, they heard what sounded like a distant explosion.

"What was that?" Asked Spyro and Cynder simultaneously. As if to answer their question, a sinister-looking creature sporting large wings, red eyes, and razor sharp claws and fangs flew by the still open door. Shortly after, Scarr ran up to them and said,

"Spyro! Cynder! Sundral has finished his spell far ahead of the predicted time! We thought we had enough time for this, but it seems not. Come with me!"

"Why?" Asked Cynder.

"Why else? You have to get back to the planet! I've arranged for the pod to be ready for you, now come on!" Exclaimed Scarr. Spyro and Cynder nodded, and Scarr escorted them to the pod that would take them back. When they arrived, Scarr said,

"This is it. Now go, and good luck! We'll hold the beasts long enough for you to get back undisturbed! The fate of the world is on your shoulders; remember that."

"Ok." Said Spyro. He and Cynder got in the pod, and it was shot into space on an autopilot course for the planet. At the speed at which it was going, it didn't take long for it to land in the ground. It opened, and Spyro and Cynder got out, realizing that they were very near a castle that appeared to be Sundral's lair. Spyro ran ahead, Cynder following close behind, and before long they were inside the castle. As soon as they entered, there was an intense heat in the air that they couldn't quite place. Regardless, they pressed onward into a short corridor. At the end of said corridor was a room that had in it a number of platforms at varying heights, suspended by chains attached to the ceiling, with a sea of molten rock beneath them instead of a floor. Spyro looked around, while Cynder said,

"Someone needs to teach this guy how to decorate." Spyro chuckled, and then said in a more serious tone,

"Enough talk about home decor, we need to be careful here." Cynder nodded, and they began platform hopping. As soon as Spyro landed on one, he found out that they weren't very stable. Spyro shrugged, and continued on. Cynder did the same. When they landed on what was probably the only stable surface in the room, the lava in front of them began to bubble violently. A massive creature made entirely of the very same molten rock it lived in emerged from the boiling liquid. Spyro growled at his dumb luck. How was he supposed to fight such a creature without his ice breath.

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Sorry it took so long to update. To those who at this point are wondering, just because of where Spyro and Cynder are doesn't mean the story is close to it's conclusion.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Heated Battle! Spyro vs. The Fire Golem!

The lava creature roared with a grotesque, almost bubbly sounding voice, and a wall of stone fell into a doorway behind it, acting as a barricade (ala Zelda). Molten rock spewed from the lava monster's gooey looking mouth, molten rock that nearly scorched Spyro. However, he knew well enough to jump out of the way, though that didn't help the situation. There was still the problem of how to combat this molten menace. As he was beginning to assess the situation at hand, he was swiped at by a whip-like appendage of the lava monster. It was just as he dodged that attack that he realized he would need to think on his paws. Without turning away from his adversary, he said,

"Geez, this thing is going to give us a hard time, huh Cynder?" There was no response, however, and when he realized that, he looked back to find that Cynder was gone. In a loud voice he asked,

"Cynder?!" He waited a few moments, and when there was still no answer, he yelled,

"Cynder!" He was then hit from behind by the same appendage that had lashed at him shortly before. He was knocked to the opposite edge of the platform from where he had been standing, a steaming burn mark having formed where he was hit. He struggled through the pain to stand, and managed it just in time to get off of the edge, which had begun to break off. He then assumed a fighting position as the monster roared again. Suddenly, he felt small pieces of rock fall on him from above, causing him to look up. There was a rock bridge above him, with an opening in the wall at one end into a bluish-colored room. Spyro decided to fly up and investigate, dodging the whip-like arms as he flew upwards. He landed on the bridge, and felt a cool wind blowing from within the room beyond. He walked inside, and found himself among icy walls and a snow-covered floor. He mumbled to himself,

"Talk about going from one extreme to the other." He began exploring the icy chamber, and before long he came to a corridor that led to an altar. He approached the altar, in order to get a closer look at anything that rested on top of it. As he got close, a huge ice stalactite fell in front of him, causing him to jump back instinctively. As the stalactite crashed into the ground, an icy beast emerged from the shattered ice and frigid mist. It exhaled a chilling gale, which Spyro sidestepped. He then made a run for the altar and grabbed what was there; an ice-blue pendant. He put it around his neck, and it glowed brightly, a brightness that slowly intensified, and then it went back to it's normal color. He was confused, but decided it was best for him to see if he could do anything about the lava monster in the other room. He had to find Cynder, so he ran past the ice creature again, dodging an attack here and there, and once in the lava room, he jumped back down to the platform he had been on before. The lava monster had submerged, but once again sensed Spyro's presence and emerged from the sea of molten rock that covered the bottom of the room. Again it roared and spewed lava, and just as Spyro was about to dodge, the pendant glowed, and the lava that had been shot at him slowly became solid ice, and then fell to the ground. In a confused tone, Spyro asked,

"What the-?" Then he was interrupted by another roar from the lava monster, to which he responded by getting into a combat stance. He mumbled,

"Well, since I don't have my ice breath, this will have to do." When a whip-like arm lashed at him, the pendant protected him, but could not freeze the arm. Spyro growled at this finding, but decided to go with it. At least he had protection. one of the arms then wrapped around Spyro's abdomen, and lifted him into the air, shaking him around like a maracca. He was then thrown, and he was really glad that the pendant protected him from the burning of the lava. He spread his wings and took flight, and dove at the lava monster. It roared, and as Spyro collided with it, a lot of steam was created, and the lava monster seemed to get slightly darker in color. Spyro smiled when he noticed that, and tried a tail swipe, and when it didn't work, he said to himself,

"Must only work for high velocity attacks." With that, he turned around, flew the other way, and tried another dive. The same thing happened, and this time the lava monster roared in what sounded like pain. It tried to grab Spyro, but he was able to dodge it get enough distance to try another dive. He did the third dive, and the lava monster turned the color of freshly hardened lava. It also did not move anymore. Spyro was confused, but decided to investigate by tapping the lava monster with a claw. It was rock solid, and that confused Spyro even more because the barricade was still there. Spyro tried attacking the lava monster with a tail swipe, and chunks of it broke off. He attacked it again and again, and more and more pieces of it broke off and fell into the lava. However, it seemed to be like a shed skin, because there was something at the center that did not break apart. When all of the breakable parts were gone, what was left fell into the lava, and the added density caused the lava to rise. The barricade was lifted, and Spyro was shocked again. He said,

"O...k. Oh well, at least I can finally move on." Spyro flew to the opening, and just as he approached it, the barricade once again fell to bar his way.

"What?!" Asked Spyro. He then heard something behind him, and turned around to have a look. The thing that was inside the mass of lava that he had destroyed had risen from the lava at the other side of the room, but it wasn't moving. Suddenly, it's once black eyes glowed a fierce red color, and it slowly came to life, roaring once when it was fully awake. It was a humanoid machine of some sort, and one of it's most unusual features was a cannon that it had instead of a right hand. It's left hand, however, was normal, and it was overall massive. It roared again, and aimed it's cannon at Spyro, shooting from it an intense stream of fire. Spyro tried to dodge, but couldn't in time. The pendant protected him, though, but when the fire vanished, the power of the pendant had reached it's limit, and the pendant itself shattered.

"Oh great..." Mumbled Spyro. The power of the pendant was released, however, and it flowed toward the machine, swirling around it, and then collecting at it's head. The machine roared, and the top of it's head was broken off, revealing a glowing section. That was an obvious signal to Spyro that that was where he had to strike. He took flight once again, increasing altitude and flying directly above the robot, striking the glowing spot with his claws. The robot roared and started thrashing around, flinging Spyro away. It then shot a series of 5 fireballs out of it's arm cannon at Spyro, who was able to catch himself just in time to evade. He flew toward the robot again, and the robot started shooting fireballs one after the other at Spyro. Spyro dodged them as they came, though one of them skimmed his body, causing a slight burn. Spyro grunted, but managed to ignore it for the most part. He attacked the glowing thing on top of the robot's head again, and again it roared and flung Spyro away. This time, it attacked by pounding it's left hand, clenched into a fist, against the wall, causing large chunks of rock to break off of the ceiling and fall. Spyro was almost hit by a couple, but he managed to avod them all, and he flew toward the robot yet again. A stream of fie came from the arm cannon, which Spyro thought he had avoided, but it kept blowing, and the robot used a sweeping motion to follow him. He was dodging and weaving as he closed in, and attacked the glowing spot for the third time, and the same basic procedure occurred again. This time, Spyro said,

"Ok, this is getting really old. How much longer do I have to keep this up?" The robot aimed it's cannon at the lava, and shot a fireball at it with such momentum that it caused a wave of lava to rise and travel toward Spyro. Spyro flew up, just barely avoiding the wave by going over it, and then approached the robot. The robot shot 8 fireballs at Spyro it quick succession, and Spyro again just barely managed to dodge them all. He dove at the robot's vulnerable spot and slashed it when it was within range causing the same thing to happen yet again. This time, the robot again changed strategies. It charged up a shot in it's cannon, and when it was release, it was a cone shaped projectile. Spyro just barely dodged it at the speed it was going, and was extremely surprised when he turned toward it because of a strange sound and found that it had bounced off of the wall. He flew up to avoid it, and then flew toward the robot again, attacking it's weak point for the fifth time. He was thrown again, and the robot then surrounded itself in an orb of fire which started expanding.

"Uh oh." Said Spyro. He was looking for a way to avoid it, and he decided that flying to a corner was his best chance. He did so, and the flames died out just in time for Spyro to avoid the searing flames. He heaved a heavy sigh, and flew as fast as he could toward the robot, being able to attack the glowing spot just as the robot was powering up for another of those attacks. He was thrown again, and the robot started flailing around, much more weakly this time. After a while of that, it started to collapse, and also started glowing. The glow got brighter and brighter until the robot seemed to be colored white, and then it started to fall to it's knees, then on it's chest. Before it fell on it's chest, however, it gave off a flash of light, and exploded violently. Pieces of it flew everywhere, and as the smoke from the explosion cleared, the stone barricade once again rose, never again to fall. Spyro was panting by now, and he said to himself,

"Finally! Now to find Cynder." He then proceeded on, while the very cloaked figure who stole Spyro's power watched him through a pool of visions similar to the one Ignitus used. He chuckled, and said softly,

"That's it, young dragon. One room down, so many more to go. Of course, even if you make it here, you will die." He then turned to an open doorway and erupted in full-blown, vile laughter, then walked into the room beyond the doorway, where there was a prison cell type thing. The clinking of chains could be heard from within, but anything within was shrouded in darkness.

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Thus ends Chapter 6. I hope it wasn't disappointing, but I had to think of some reasonable thing for Spyro to do...


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Trusted Ally Helps Out! Time is Running Short!

Spyro continued to press onward. The castle, however was like an enormous labyrinth, and Spyro was getting annoyed. Three different paths he had tried were all circles, and when he looked at the two paths he had not yet tried, he growled in frustration. Just then, a voice that was just above a whisper called out telepathically,

"Are you the Purple Dragon?" Spyro suddenly stopped to listen, and found that he could respond in the same way. He did so, saying,

"Yes. Who are you?" The voice simply responded,

"I'm an ally. Find me and I'll help you. You must hurry, the dark dragon that is your companion is in great danger. She is to be, by the wishes of Malefor, a tribute to the dark. If the darkness is allowed to consume her, it will be too powerful to eliminate."

"I understand. Where are you?" Asked Spyro. The voice replied,

"Based on the sound of your voice, I must assume that you are in the central hall of the first floor. Follow the path opposite the way out, and-"

"I tried that path already!" Yelled Spyro.

"Shh. I am fully aware of that. However, you do not know about the hidden corridor, correct?" Responded the voice. Spyro was left speechless for a few seconds, after which he could only say,

"No, I don't." The voice chuckled gently, and then replied,

"Thought so. Follow the corridor, and at the first left turn, turn right-"

"But there's a wall there!" Interrupted Spyro.

"Stop that!" Yelled the voice.

"Sorry." Said Spyro.

"As I was saying, turn right, and walk toward the wall. Walk into it, and you will pass through it. You see, it's actually an illusion." Explained the voice.

"Ok, I understand." Replied Spyro. He did as commanded, cautiously walking toward the wall in case he didn't actually pass through it. He was, however, left surprised as he did actually go right through. Once through, Spyro said,

"Ok, now what?"

"Just go straight and hang a right when you can. In that hallway, go into one of the nooks if you hear something heavy hit the ground. A boulder will pass by shortly after. When it does, you can proceed further, but remember to keep your ears open. At the end of that hallway there is a blue circle. Step on it, and you will be teleported to a secret room in the basement with a single door, and a row of prison cells. I'm being held prisoner there. We'll talk more face to face." Explained Hunter.

"Got it." Said Spyro. He strolled down the hall, and stopped as boulder passed in front of him at the end of the hall, breaking into pieces against the wall. He gulped, and proceeded, hiding in a nook when he was quite close to the end of the new hall, because he saw and heard the boulder drop. As it passed, he ran toward where it had come from and stepped on the blue circle, feeling his body being broken up into individual atoms for transdportation. It was a very strange feeling, and when he was put back together in the secret room, he said,

"Whoa!" He looked around, and saw something moving in one of the cells. He approached cautiously, and peered inside, seeing a cheetah fiddling with what looked like a thick wire. Spyro cleared his throat, and the cheetah stopped what he was doing. Without turning around, he said,

"Hello, purple dragon."

"Uh, hi." Replied Spyro in a nervous tone. The cheetah turned around, and said,

"No need to be scared, young one. I am an ally, I can promise you that."

"Who are you?" Asked Spyro.

"My name is Hunter. I hail from the realm known as Avalar." Replied the cheetah.

"Hunter... Avalar... Wait! You're Hunter of Avalar?! The same Hunter of Avalar who sent me the letter aboard Scabb's airship?!" Asked Spyro. Hunter responded by explaining,

"Shh. Yes, I am Hunter of Avalar, and now I need your help, as does the dark dragon. Now, listen carefully. Malefor was supposed to be released from his prison over a year ago, but his accomplices were lazy, which has worked in our favor. However, with the blanket of darkness already upon our world, it is only a matter of time, which means we have to hurry. The dark dragon that is being held prisoner here is the final key, because believe it or not, she is, and will always be directly linked to the darkness. That is why Malefor's influence affected her as much as it did. If it were, say, a fire dragon, the result wouldn't be nearly as good for Malefor, as they would still grow up normally. Now, the dark dragon is at the top of the castle with Dakule, Sundral's right hand accomplice. To reach them in time, you need my help, so go through that door, and get the key from the guard.."

"Ok." Said Spyro. He went through the door, which was open, luckily, and looked at the guard, who was sleeping. Spyro snickered, and approached slowly. When he was within range, he snatched the key from the guard's right hand, and was about to leave when the door shut. Spyro growled as he looked at the guard, who had suddenly shot awake. The guard picked up a hand ax that had been lying on the floor, and swung at Spyro, who jumped back to avoid getting hit. The guard got closer to Spyro, and Spyro began to pound away at the guard's armor. It broke little bits at a time, and he had to dodge the occasional attack. Once Spyro had broken off all of the guard's platemail, he was swung at, and was struck. He roared in pain, and grabbed the handle of the axe with his mouth, ripping it from the guard's grasp and throwing it aside. The guard tried to pick up a longsword, but before he was allowed to, he was skewered on Spyro's left horn. No blood was spilt, strangely, but soon it became very clear why as the guard vanished in a blast of black smoke. Spyro coughed in the brief fumes, and then exited the room through the now open door. His right wing had been cut by the axe, grounding him until it could heal. He approached Hunter's cell with the key in his mouth, and Hunter took it in his hand, unlocking the cell gate. He stepped out and stretched, and then turned to Spyro, saying,

"Thanks for that. Now, we need to save the dark dragon. There is a secret way to the top of the castle, but we must hurry. Come on!" Spyro nodded, and followed Hunter, who ran at a pace that Spyro could keep up with. Once back on the other side of the illusion that Hunter had told Spyro about, Hunter and Spyro both ran toward a wall in the central hall. They went through it, and on the other side was a staircase. Hunter turned to Spyro, and said,

"Most of Sundral's men don't even know about this place, so we should be safe for the most part. Now, let's go!" Spyro nodded, and they went up the stairs, a blue warp circle being at the top. They approached it, and then heard a voice yell,

"I think they went this way! Let's go!"

"Uh oh! They followed us!" Said Hunter.

"What should we do?" Asked Spyro.

"You young one, need to go help the dark dragon. I'll hold off these losers." Replied Hunter. To this, Spyro started,

"But-"

"No buts! You need to go! Now!" Said Hunter, who then pushed Spyro into the circle. Spyro gasped, and he was atomized and transported. On the other side, when Spyro's body was put back together, he said,

"Hunter..." Then, after a five second pause, he finished,

"...Thank you." He looked around, and found himself in what appeared to be a small room. The wall opposite the warp circle, however, looked suspiciously dark in color. He approached it, and found it to be one of the illusory walls. He walked through it, and found himself in what appeared to be a throne room. He started wandering, but found the room deserted. He soon discovered a pool of visions. He said,

"No way..." Then he heard footsteps, and hid in a pitch black corner. He saw a cloaked figure come into the room and begin to talk to himself. He said,

"Oh, what a hassle. If it wasn't for my sworn allegance to Sundral, I would have been out of here long ago. Oh well, I have my orders; orders I must follow." He then sat in the throne, and said to himself,

"I'm so exhausted. A quick nap won't hurt. He then fell asleep immediately, snoring loudly. Spyro snickered again, and snuck into the room from where the cloaked figure had come. He immediately saw a huge cell, and tried to look at whatever was inside. He found it impossible, however, as the darkness inside the cell was too widespread. Soon, however, he heard chains jingling, and saw movement in the form of a silhouette. The shape of what he saw made him gasp, and quietly say,

"So it's true..."

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Chapter 7 comes to a close.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Time is up! The ritual must be stopped!

Spyro turned toward the door and growled, infuriated at Dakule and Sundral for what they had done. The realization came shortly, however, that they would have to wait. He turned back to the large cell, and started examining the bars for anything he could do something with in his current state. He found the cell door and started trying to remove the lock, to no avail. As he continued to walk along the bars, the silhouette seemed to mimic his position, chains jingling occasionally. Spyro stopped suddenly, and said,

"Cynder, if that's you give me a sign or something." Shortly after Spyro made his request, a lamp turned on inside the cell. Indeed it was Cynder, with so many shackles binding her that she may as well been encased in iron. There was one around each of her ankles, one around her neck, one holding her mouth closed, one around her abdomen, and three around her tail at different sections, all of which were loosely hooked to the walls and such with the exception of the neck shackle, which was more like a leash. Her eyes were closed, and her cheeks stained with her own tears. Spyro gasped at the sight, but was soon forced into hiding by sounds coming from the other room. The sounds were caused by a large bronze dragon, whom Spyro correctly assumed to be Sundral, arriving and coming into the room. He looked at Cynder, who sensed his presence and opened her eyes slowly, fear brimming in her quivering turqoise pools.

"Time to go, young one. You have a date with destiny." Said Sundral. He unlocked the cell, grabbed the chain attached to Cynder's neck shackle, and then unlocked all of the rest of the shackles. Apparently she had learned by then not to try to attack, as she simply said,

"Sundral you can't go through with this. You just can't." Sundral simply laughed, and said,

"So you say, and I'm sure your boyfriend over there was thinking the exact same thing." Spyro gasped slightly, and Sundral said without looking at him,

"Yes, I've known you were there since I entered the room. It's simply so much more fun to see the look of shock, that's all. Now, as you're undoubtably so worried about the dark dragon, I'll remove the horror of watching from your options. Guards! Seize this dragon and remove him from the castle vicinity!" The guards were there before long, and as Spyro was being dragged out of the room to be removed from the castle, he said,

"Sundral you don't know what you're doing! The world has already withered! Think about what will happen!" He was on the outside before long, and was thrown out of the vicinity, landing with a loud thud as a vile flash was emitted from the throne room. Spyro simply watched the flash with a shocked expression accompanied by quivering eyes, and he said,

"Cynder..." His expression quickly turned to a determined one after that, and he continued by saying,

"Hang in there." He then closed his eyes, rage about the situation swelling within him. He felt this immense rage, but immense as it was, he found himself in control of it. Suddenly, he felt something building inside of him. He closed his eyes, and was able to hear a voice echo through his head. It was that of the Chronicler. His voice said,

"Clear your mind, Spyro, and unleash the true power within you!" Spyro's eyes shot open, and he was surrounded by a a pulsating white spherical aura, which expanded, and then replaced by another which also expanded before long. That repeated with another couple of auras, and then a ring of small white orbs appeared on the ground around Spyro. It started spinning, and then rose until it was above him, spinning faster all the way, and then the ring shot up and seperated, and the white orbs started raining down, exploding in huge blasts as they hit the ground. When all the them were gone, Spyro looked down at the ground, and asked,

"What was that?" The Chronicler's voice then spoke again, saying,

"Ha ha! Young dragon, you are truly gifted! You have just witnessed your command over the very power that fuels life on our planet! I'm talking about the sun, my boy the sun!"

"The sun?! No way..." Said Spyro.

"Indeed. Now, with this new power, you may just have what it takes to put a stop to all of this!" Said the Chronicler.

"Alright!" Said Spyro with a nod, afterwards closing his eyes again. He heard a shrill cry that was unmistakably Cynder's, and his eyes shot vopen with a gasp. He yelled,

"I'm coming Cynder!" He then took off in the direction of the cry, which he had heard from miles away.

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Chapter 8 now concludes. Sorry about having a short one this time, but you all know that it happens sometimes.


End file.
